Stone had always wanted to have the time to just hang around in London, but he hadn't had the chance so far. Fortunately, the Library was in a state of peace, so Stone had finally gotten the time to go. As of now, he had just walked to a nearby cafe, contemplating what to do on his little impromptu trip. Then he saw a glimpse of his least favorite (a lie, though he'd never admit it) thief. He turned to see, curious if he had been hallucinating. Maybe the effect of being around magic artifacts for to long was catching up on him.
Alas, Ezekiel was chatting up with a pretty young woman, who looked similar to him. She was of Asian descent and had long, dark hair braided into an impeccable braid. The woman held Ezekiel's gaze, and both seemed on edge.
They seemed deep into a discussion, and both were on edge. Whatever said was going to be important. Stone needed to know more about Ezekiel, so he listened in from behind a wall in the café, even if he felt slightly wrong for doing so.
"Erin, I don't feel the need to be captured." Ezekiel said, his voice morphed into a crisp British accent. It seemed natural for the now frustrated Librarian, leading Stone to believe Ezekiel was all the Australian he'd like them to think. Perhaps Ezekiel was working a theft with another thief.
"Erick, they're looking for an Australian in his mid to late twenties, not a twenty-three year old Brit." The woman, Erin, said to him. Ezekiel (Erick?) frowned, but didn't concede. He seemed more thrown off his game, and he was looking at her in a way that made Stone wonder if they had more history than what he assumed they did. And he would return to the issue of Ezekiel being twenty-three later, he had to focus on the conversation.
"I can't really drop off the grid in my current job now. And if I tell them, they'll investigate, and we both know that can't happen." Ezekiel said to her, voice so low that Stone could barely hear him. Even more surprising was the tone of apology he had in his voice. Did he tell this woman about the Library? She must not be another common criminal. Maybe not even a criminal at all. Ezekiel spoke to her as a respected equal, something Stone knew he'd never do with any passing accomplice.
"You work at a magical Library that stores objects, not people. We should be safe." Erin retorted, clearly trying to win over the youngest Librarian. Who was apparently twenty-three? God, Stone couldn't get over that. What could have she meant by storing people, though?
"Who knows? And I'm plenty sure that your testimony will be good enough." Ezekiel argued, a note of defeat in his voice. It seemed they had had this exact conversation before. The use of the word 'testimony' led Stone to believe that the thief must have to testify against another of his associates, perhaps. Or it might be absolutely unrelated to his thieving.
"Erick, I need your help. Mom can't testify with her condition." Erin pleaded. Siblings, then? They certainly looked related. They even seemed to be the same age, so possibly half-siblings or twins. And the fact that Ezekiel apparently had a mother with a poor condition made Stone more interested into the conversation at hand. He had never been able to find files on Ezekiel's childhood or family, something that made more sense if Ezekiel Jones was an alias.
"I'll see what I can do. I'm sure I can work something out." Ezekiel told her, getting up. Should he confront the Librarian? It seemed to be the best course Stone could take on this. He'd have to get him somewhere back in the Library, however. Conversations of magic in public tended not to go the best, for example their latest mission in California. Ezekiel had causally mentioned the artifact and soon all the werewolves and other creatures in town knew.
Actually, there was less werewolves than expected. There was a kitsune, banshee, and even a werecoyote. Stone didn't even know werecoyotes were a thing. That Ezekiel did know, however.
"If they try to hurt you, just call for me." Erin told him, a silent promise. The two embraced for a moment before Ezekiel walked out the door to leave. That led Stone to panicking, since he had most definitely changed the location of the Back Door. When he had left, he had seen it was set to Australia before switching it. He had thought at the time that Ezekiel had gone to visit his hometown. But how had Ezekiel even gotten to London then?
Stone really should have expected the sight of Ezekiel disappearing into thin air, but it still spooked him. He needed to talk to Ezekiel before he explodes of pure curiosity.
Don't own any characters except the OC so far, which I hope is obvious. This is sort of an introduction, and I hope I can write more soon. Please tell me how to improve my writing, seeing as I'm not the best at story-telling at the moment.